These have included several air strikes against pro-government forces that have sought to advance towards a US base in southeastern Syria near the border with Iraq, where the USA military has been training Syrian rebels to fight IS.
At the same time, Iran fired missiles into Syria over the weekend.
A senior United States defense official tells CNN the so-called "de-confliction line" remains open with Russian Federation.
As Syria's complex war ramps up, the Trump administration is scrambling to tamp down tensions and avoid open hostilities with the Russians.
On Monday, the United Nations expressed deep concern over the risk of escalation in Syria. But at the time, USA and Russian forces continued to use the hotline despite Russia's announcement. "Our military did the right thing: we will put targets under control if any there appear".
Spicer's statement echoed the comments made earlier on Monday by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Marine General Joseph Dunford, who said the US is working to reestablish communications with Russian Federation in Syria, aimed at preventing possible incidents between the two countries' troops.
Downing the military jet within Syrian airspace "cynically" violates the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic, Russian military said. Those forces, which are aligned with the U.S.in the campaign against ISIS, warned Syrian government troops to stop their attacks or face retaliation.
Following a statement by the U.S. Central Command saying that the Syrian jet was downed - in Syrian air space - "in collective self-defense of coalition-partnered forces", the Russian Defense Ministry said it had suspended a de-conflicting and exchange of information agreement with the U.S. That agreement had been struck as part of the shared aim of taking Raqqa from the occupation of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Indian PM Modi's party picks Dalit as presidential candidate
Kovind would become the second Dalit President of India, after KR Narayanan who served as the President from 1997 to 2002. He also stressed, for good measure, that Kovind was from the RSS' ranks and that makes this a direct political fight.
According to a statement from the Pentagon, pro-Syrian regime forces attacked the US -backed Syrian Democratic Forces- held town of Ja'Din, south of Tabqah in northern Syria, wounding a number of SDF fighters and driving the SDF from the town.
"The Russian Federation has indicated that their objective in Syria, like ours, is to defeat ISIS", Dunford told reporters.
On Monday, Russia's Ministry of Defense accused the USA of "a cynical violation" of Syria's sovereignty, saying that Russian aircraft had also been carrying out combat missions in the same region - and that the coalition didn't use the deconfliction channels. "And I'm also confident that our forces have the capability to take care of themselves". Coalition aircraft will continue flying throughout Syria, although some assets will be repositioned, said Col. Ryan Dillon, a coalition spokesman. "And so making sure that people understand while we want to de-escalate the situation there, that we have to understand that we will always preserve the right of self-defense".
The U.S. and its coalition partners fly combat and support missions daily out of several bases in the Middle East, including in Qatar and Turkey. It also demanded an investigation by U.S. command.
The US has called for an end to the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria.
The California congressman said one of his main concerns is "the Iranians' ability to get a land bridge out to the Mediterranean to increase their logistical support for terrorist networks".
"We will work diplomatically and militarily in the coming hours to re-establish de-confliction", he said.
The problem is not unique - the Obama administration was widely criticized for lacking a coherent Syria strategy - but Trump's difficulty in developing one comes as the US military presence in the country has steadily escalated. Tom Shannon, the State Department No. 3, will meet Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world.


Comments